Safety

Service

BNSF plays a vital role in our economy’s supply chain, moving freight across our nation every day. Here we explore how our investments and innovations enable the reliable and efficient delivery of freight.

News & Media

Welcome to the BNSF newsroom. Here, you’ll find news releases, customer notifications and media assets available for use by news organizations. Looking for a media contact within BNSF? Get in touch with us using the Media Contacts list on the left.

BNSF Alumni Association

Suppliers

BNSF purchases material and service items from an extensive list of sources. We seek to acquire quality goods and services at the lowest total cost of ownership by working resourcefully, efficiently, effectively and ethically with both current and prospective suppliers.

Supplier Relationship

Diverse Business Enterprise

We are committed to proactively identify, attract and develop long-term partnerships with certified minority, woman and veteran-owned and small disadvantaged businesses, while fulfilling BNSF Vision and Values.

Suppliers

Customers

Notice!The Rail Central and Track Your Shipment applications will be undergoing system maintenance on Thursday, November 15th, from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM CST. During the maintenance window, Rail Central and Track Your Shipment may be unavailable.

Ship with BNSF

From the materials that help create products people use every day to the actual finished products, our consistent and cost-effective service takes products of any size to customers when and where they need them.

No matter what you're shipping, BNSF has a service to meet your needs.

New to Rail or BNSF?

Rail Development

Are you developing a new facility or looking to expand? You can rely on BNSF’s team of experts to help educate you on the benefits of incorporating our rail network into your supply chain. BNSF’s Economic Development team can help guide you through the process of expanding, developing or selecting a site.

In the Community

For more than 160 years, BNSF Railway has been an essential connector – safely and efficiently transporting freight from point A to point B. But we don't just move freight; we touch people and communities along the way. We're proud to tell our story and how we strive to be a trusted partner worthy of your respect.

Hazardous Materials

Economic Impact

U.S. and global economies rely on rail, and BNSF is a vital link in the global supply chain. We enable our customers to participate in a wide range of markets in North America and around the world. Recognizing our contribution to our nation's economy, we work to listen and respond to customers' needs, maintain strong corporate governance, provide value to investors, and strategically invest to keep our rail network strong.

Tribal Relations

BNSF Railway’s first-in-the-industry Tribal Relations program seeks to build and strengthen ties with the many diverse tribal nations on BNSF’s network, and to foster within BNSF a greater cultural understanding of these tribal nations, their rights and governance, cultural resources, and other crucial issues.

Our People

The people who work at BNSF are the ones who drive the railroad to success. BNSF people are from all areas of the country and have a variety of skills. BNSF is focused on keeping the railroad moving forward, meeting customers' needs and serving the communities where our employees live and work.

Awards & Honors

Contact Us

At BNSF, we are committed to providing you the information you need to make informed transportation decisions. If you would like more information on any of the subjects contained in this section, please feel free to contact us.

BNSF helps deliver Christmas wishes

It’s that time of year… the time when you power up your trusty laptop and start turning wish lists into reality. But have you ever wondered what it takes to get all those packages delivered to your door?

Naturally, it takes a lot of communication and a well-coordinated effort between retailers and transportation providers (oh, and Santa, of course). BNSF and our service partners work hand-in-hand to make sure the cool new tech gadget you bought your dad for Christmas makes it in time for it to be wrapped and set under the tree.

"The holiday shopping season is as important to the transportation supply chain as it is to the retail sector," says Joni Casey, president and CEO, Intermodal Association of North America. "Intermodal shipments can more than double for many shippers during this time of year based on the statistics that IANA maintains."

"This is the most important time of the year for several of our customers, and because it’s important to them, it’s important to us," explains Tom Williams, group vice president, Consumer Products. “We want to help companies keep the promises they make to their customers, and that means we need to keep the promises we make to them."

Here’s where communication and coordination are critical. This year the outlook is again merry and bright as analysts at accounting firm Deloitte have estimated holiday retail sales will top $1 trillion.

That’s trillion. With a "T."

To make sure BNSF keeps its promise to move everything on time, we have to be extra diligent this season.

“There are always things that happen, like washouts and snowstorms, that we can’t prevent,” says Rob Reilly, vice president, BNSF South Region Operations. “Remaining agile and finding alternative ways to get shipments to their destinations on time are how we meet our customers’ expectations during this critical time of year.”

Even if it’s a mild winter, we railroaders still have to stay on our toes and adapt. For example, over the past couple of decades, shopping habits have changed the way we operate at the tail-end of the year, with gift cards lengthening the holiday-buying season as more people shop later in the year and early into the New Year.

Today, the biggest disruptor is e-commerce, which is predicted to account for roughly $130 billion in holiday sales this year, according to the same Deloitte forecast. Online shoppers have certain expectations: free shipping, free returns, two-day delivery. So how do we do it? Some of our routes are more than 2,000 miles long. Two days?

As you might have guessed, we moved the item you bought online to a nearby warehouse or distribution center long before you even clicked “Complete Purchase.” That means that by the time you entered your credit card number, the item was already within hours of your shipping address.

It may seem like the way we shop has changed dramatically, but “buy now” isn’t that much different than shopping at a traditional retail store. That’s because the items in your physical shopping cart also had to be logistically positioned before you reached for them on the shelf.

Today, online sales account for slightly over 10 percent of all retail sales, but they continue to have the largest projections for growth.

So no matter how you prefer to shop, we’ll help get that new gadget to you on time.

Did you know?

In 2017, BNSF delivered more than 70 million packages during the holiday season. That’s nearly 7.8 million packages for each of Santa’s reindeer – Rudolph included, of course.